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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.

Sec. Plant Biotechnology

This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Strategies for Managing Plant Disease: Lessons from Host-Pathogen InteractionsView all articles

A new use of Agrobacterium plant growth regulator genes for plant bioengineering

Provisionally accepted
Michelle HeckMichelle Heck1,2,3*Marco PitinoMarco Pitino4*Samuel CoradettiSamuel Coradetti1,2*Stacy L. DeBlasioStacy L. DeBlasio1William CooperWilliam Cooper4Lauren ShrumLauren Shrum5Douglas HarperDouglas Harper4Martin StalloneMartin Stallone1,2Aspen ScottAspen Scott4Rachel CookRachel Cook4Brian RhodesBrian Rhodes6Samantha SullivanSamantha Sullivan7Elijah SchechterElijah Schechter2Ellen CochraneEllen Cochrane8Nicholas LarsonNicholas Larson6Guilherme LocatelliGuilherme Locatelli8Joanne HodgeJoanne Hodge8Magali Ferrari GrandoMagali Ferrari Grando9Li WangLi Wang2Meneka AriyaranteMeneka Ariyarante10Redeat TibebuRedeat Tibebu10Richard StangeRichard Stange6Kevin J. HoweKevin J. Howe1Ariana MakarAriana Makar6Douglas StuehlerDouglas Stuehler11Luke ThompsonLuke Thompson2Ketan ShendeKetan Shende8Matthew HentzMatthew Hentz6Nichole GazaNichole Gaza6Chase Weeks-PurdyChase Weeks-Purdy12Brian ChangBrian Chang2Ali NikoomanzarAli Nikoomanzar13Lucy BennettLucy Bennett2Nursena DemirdennNursena Demirdenn9Wayne B. HunterWayne B. Hunter6James ThomsonJames Thomson10Mark RitenourMark Ritenour8Lorenzo RossiLorenzo Rossi8Liliana M. CanoLiliana M. Cano8Robert C. Adair, Jr.Robert C. Adair, Jr.14Eddie StoverEddie Stover6Cindy McKenzieCindy McKenzie6Randall NiedzRandall Niedz6Robert ShatteresRobert Shatteres6
  • 1USDA-ARS Robert W Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, Ithaca, United States
  • 2Cornell University, Ithaca, United States
  • 3Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, United States
  • 4USDA-ARS Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research Unit, Wapato, United States
  • 5Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, United States
  • 6USDA-ARS United States Horticultural Research Laboratory, Fort Pierce, United States
  • 7Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, United States
  • 8University of Florida Indian River Research and Education Center, Fort Pierce, United States
  • 9USDA ARS Horticultural Research Laboratory, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, United States
  • 10USDA-ARS Western Regional Research Center, Albany, United States
  • 11USDA ARS Emerging Pests and Pathogens Research Unit, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, United States
  • 12New Visions Life Sciences Program, Tompkins Seneca Tioga BOCES, Ithaca, United States
  • 13Telesis Bio, San Diego, United States
  • 14Florida Research Center for Agricultural Sustainability, Vero Beach, United States

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Delivery of therapeutic molecules into the plant's vascular tissues is a massive barrier to developing sustainable management strategies for plant diseases caused by insect-vector borne vascular plant pathogens. By adding Agrobacterium plant growth regulator genes to a binary plant transformation vector also encoding a gene of interest, we engineered plant tissues capable of autonomous cell division and vascularization while expressing biomolecules on the stems of host plants and in vitro plant cell tissue culture cured of Agrobacterium. We refer to these repurposed Agrobacterium galls as symbionts to reflect their intended beneficial interaction with the host plant. A small molecule dye freely moves into the host vasculature from the symbiont; however, visualization of cytoplasmic fluorescent proteins and patterns of post-transcriptional gene silencing from symbionts suggest that further optimization of symbiont physiology may enhance product export.

Keywords: Agrobacterium tumefacians, Biofactory, citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing), gall, genetic transformation, plant biotechnology

Received: 25 Nov 2025; Accepted: 06 Feb 2026.

Copyright: © 2026 Heck, Pitino, Coradetti, DeBlasio, Cooper, Shrum, Harper, Stallone, Scott, Cook, Rhodes, Sullivan, Schechter, Cochrane, Larson, Locatelli, Hodge, Grando, Wang, Ariyarante, Tibebu, Stange, Howe, Makar, Stuehler, Thompson, Shende, Hentz, Gaza, Weeks-Purdy, Chang, Nikoomanzar, Bennett, Demirdenn, Hunter, Thomson, Ritenour, Rossi, Cano, Adair, Jr., Stover, McKenzie, Niedz and Shatteres. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Michelle Heck
Marco Pitino
Samuel Coradetti

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material